iA bird has alightedOn the branch of a treeBehind the house.Some slight foliage between it and me,Like a layer of paint,Makes it appear shadowy,Merely a bird shape.And the sky is filled with vivid light.Somehow this morningI seem to be seeing the worldAs a paintingWhile January endeavoursTo become February.

III used to go up the river a bitAway from the othersWhen I was learning to swimTo a spot where I was alone.I floated under water mostlyBarely managing to hold my breath,Unable to raise my headTo breatheI’d have to get my hands and feet beneath meAnd stand up in the middle of the streamWith drops in my eyelashes.I marvelled at the light scintillatingOn the water of the riverAnd in the leaves of the trees along the bank.

IIIThe damp smell of the earthAfter rain--As we get the scentOf rain from the earthWe see a breezeIn the foliage of a tree.But the leavesOf the evergreenBarely stirJust as ifIt is a painting.

IVWe were playingIn the wood,We had divided into two groupsAnd were pelting crab-apples at each other.I put my head upAnd was struck by a shot in my right eye.The strangest partWas that I got the smell of the appleAs it hit my eye.Synaesthesia perhapsBut probably not.

VThey planted a tree for every one of usTo celebrate the millenniumAs a sign that all the population Are branches of the same treeAnd they gave us candles as well,Symbolizing again perhapsThat we are all a light for each other.It’s unlikely though.

VIA branch torn completely from a tree by the roadSomeone who swung from it drunk no doubt.A scar the shape of an upside down tearLeft in the trunk.There are no birds in it.It could be dyingBut probably not.When January becomes February againSprouts will shoot,A different picture will appear.

VIIThe bird has left the tree.The foliageOf the evergreenA picture no more.The vivid sky gone grey.

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Colm Breathnach is a poet, novelist and translator. He has won the principal poetry prize at the annual Conradh na Gaeilge Oireachtas Literary Competitions on four occasions and the Irish American Cultural Institute presented him with the ‘Butler Prize’ in 1999 for his poetry. With Dr. Andrea Nic Thaidhg, he produced a translation of the Günter Grass novel Katz und Maus under the title Cat agus Luch (Coiscéim, 2009). His first novel, Con Trick “An Bhalla Bháin” (Cló Iar-Chonnacht), a metafictional work which was awarded a special recognition prize at the Oireachtas Literary Competitions, was published in 2009. He has had poems translated into English, Sottish Gaelic, German, Italian, French, Slovenian and Chinese and his collection An Fear Marbh appeared in a Rumanian edition under the title Bărbatul fără viaţă (Ars Longa, Iasi, 1999). He has been awarded writing residencies in Shanghai and Slovenia and he was Irish-language Writer in Residence in St. Patrick’s College, Dublin City University, in 2015. His latest collection Tírdhreacha, new and selection poems with accompanying artwork by Pól Ó Colmáin, was published in 2015 by LeabhairCOMHAR.

World’s first major ecopoetry award. With a first prize of £5,000 for the best single poem embracing ecological themes, the award ranks amongst the highest of any English language single poem competition. Second prize is £2,000 and third prize £1,000.